Wood refuels for Wolfpack

Published: Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 12:22 AM.

RALEIGH — When he catches fire and long-range bombs drop in rapid succession, Scott Wood often has compared the feeling to those frozen-time scenes in shoot-’em-up movies and video games, where bullets and vapor trails whiz everywhere.

“I’ve always said it’s like ‘The Matrix,’ ” the North Carolina State senior said. “Everything kind of slows down a little bit and everybody just looks like they’re moving really fast, but you’re still going in slow motion.

“That’s about the only way I can really explain it.”

Whatever the explanation or sensation, Wood found it again four nights ago, when he broke out of a slump by burying five 3-pointers in the opening 11 minutes of the Wolfpack’s victory against Stanford, and finished with a season-high 17 points.

The two games prior had been a struggle for Wood, who went a combined 2-for-10 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc while totaling eight points in routs of Cleveland State and Norfolk State.

“I didn’t play well in (those) two games and I’m the first one to admit it,” the swingman said. “So it’s nice to get back and play a lot better than what I did.”

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried agreed, saying, “It was important for him to really play well, which I think he did.”

RALEIGH — When he catches fire and long-range bombs drop in rapid succession, Scott Wood often has compared the feeling to those frozen-time scenes in shoot-’em-up movies and video games, where bullets and vapor trails whiz everywhere.

“I’ve always said it’s like ‘The Matrix,’ ” the North Carolina State senior said. “Everything kind of slows down a little bit and everybody just looks like they’re moving really fast, but you’re still going in slow motion.

“That’s about the only way I can really explain it.”

Whatever the explanation or sensation, Wood found it again four nights ago, when he broke out of a slump by burying five 3-pointers in the opening 11 minutes of the Wolfpack’s victory against Stanford, and finished with a season-high 17 points.

The two games prior had been a struggle for Wood, who went a combined 2-for-10 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc while totaling eight points in routs of Cleveland State and Norfolk State.

“I didn’t play well in (those) two games and I’m the first one to admit it,” the swingman said. “So it’s nice to get back and play a lot better than what I did.”

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried agreed, saying, “It was important for him to really play well, which I think he did.”

Wood’s flammable first half against Stanford opened driving lanes and post-ups in the second half, with the Cardinal committed to not helping on defense in some situations, so that Wood wouldn’t be left with room on the perimeter.

Eighteen of N.C. State guard Lorenzo Brown’s 24 points came after halftime, most of them generated by attacking drives. Wolfpack forward Richard Howell scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.

“I thought that stretch in the first half, where Scott got loose and made some 3s, was a really big stretch for us,” Gottfried said. “It opened things up.”

Wood’s final three 3s were drilled in a 76-second span Tuesday night, prompting Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins to burn a timeout at the 9:06 mark of the first half.

Wood ranks second in N.C. State history with 254 career 3s, behind Rodney Monroe’s record 322.

And in some ways, Wood’s productivity from deep continues to be a victory barometer. The Wolfpack has won 14 straight games when he has connected on four or more 3s.

Tip-off

Who: St. Bonaventure (7-3) at No. 25 N.C. State (8-2)

When: 3 p.m. today

Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh

Series: Tied 1-1

Tip-in: N.C. State won 67-65 in last December’s meeting with St. Bonaventure when C.J. Leslie hit a tough-angled shot from the baseline with less than a second remaining.